Scottish oil worker killed in Rio

Strange indeed that even to this very moment 5 days after this crime was committed NOT ONE SINGLE WORD about it has appeared in the Brazilian media, not one single newspaper or television news report anywhere in the whole country!!!

Could it be that the Brazilian government has embarked on a program of covering up the all too frequent killings of foreigners in Brazil in order not to disuade foreigners from attending the upcoming FIFA World Cup scheduled to start in just over two months time? Seems that they're not as reluctant to report on the combined police/military occupation of the favela Complexo do Maré or other crimes that have taken place in Rio since last Wednesday.

If I were a betting man, I'd say that the odds on this are very good indeed.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, Expat-blog Experts Team

Strange indeed and not a good sign, but then it doesn't surprise me either.

This is the warning that the US State Department issues to all US citizens who plan coming to Brazil. (Once the page opens click on "Safety and Security")

Pretty scary stuff, but all true. These warnings should be followed by everyone regardless of their citizenship. These government "Travel Advisories" are the strongest form of warning that foreign governments issue on travel, the next step is actually to prohibit their citizens from travel to certain countries. The USA and Canada aren't too far away from doing exactly that, if things don't improve here in Brazil.

Also see the list of safety tips in my posting "A Gringo's Survival Guide to Brazil"

If you follow them all without exception, then your chances of having problems here in Brazil are greatly reduced.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, Expat-blog Experts Team

Well, better late than never I guess!

After hushing up this brutal killing for SEVEN FULL DAYS it finally surfaced in the Brazilian media. Only because it is all over the international media Brazil's Globo Network added a brief blurb on their website G1.

Try as they might the Brazilian government can't censor something like this forever. While it took a full week until the foreign press coverage put their feet to the fire, at least now everybody in Brazil is going to know about it too.

Can't expect too much in a country where the major broadcasters, newspapers and news magazines are all aligned along party lines, instead of being truly independent like in most countries.